SLS AMG GT3 “45th Anniversary” World Premiere At 2012 São Paulo International Motor Show
Mercedes-Benz is holding at the 2012 São Paolo International Motor Show the world premiere for the new SLS AMG GT3 “45th Anniversary”, the exclusively appointed special series aimed at car collectors with a particular penchant for motor racing.
The customer sport racing car is being built by hand in a limited edition of no more than five vehicles in Affalterbach. Record DTM champion and AMG brand ambassador Bernd Schneider is involved hands-on in the production process, installing the AMG 6.3-litre V8 engine in the SLS AMG GT3 “45th Anniversary” together with an AMG engine fitter.
According to Mercedes-Benz, the exclusive collector’s item is also synonymous with the successful AMG customer sports program – noting the current tally of 36 wins in the 2012 motorsport season and three driver and team titles in the FIA GT3 European Championship, the ADAC GT Masters and the FIA GT1 World Championship to its name, the racing version of the gullwing model from Mercedes-AMG is also an impressive success story in its own right.
“The world premiere of our special “45th Anniversary” series of the SLS AMG GT3 at the 27th São Paulo International Motor Show in Brazil is a homage to all Brazilian AMG fans. Firstly because the Brazilian market has witnessed rapid growth for AMG high-performance vehicles in the past five years. And secondly because two of our AMG customer teams are putting in a very good showing in the Brazilian GT Championship and have excellent prospects with their three SLS AMG GT3s,” according to Ola Källenius.
A number of exterior and interior modifications have been carried out for the special SLS AMG GT3 “45th Anniversary” model, including the new designo magno graphite matt paint finish, for example. To date, this matt paintwork has been exclusive to the SL 65 AMG “45th Anniversary”, which was unveiled to mark the 45th birthday of Mercedes-AMG at the New York International Auto Show in April 2012. The AMG light-alloy wheels in designo magno graphite complement the body’s matt paintwork to perfection.
Another eye-catching feature is the striking “45 Years of Driving Performance” logo framed in silver on the GT3 racing car’s gullwing doors.The special edition’s logo embodies consummate design right down to the finer points of detail: closer inspection reveals the exposed carbon-fibre structure of the gullwing doors under the matt paintwork. The doors, along with the bonnet, mudguards, boot lid, rear wings, front and rear apron, front splitter and rear diffusor, are produced in the particularly lightweight motorsport material CFRP (CFRP = carbon fibre reinforced plastic).
The interior of the SLS AMG GT3 “45th Anniversary” evokes a functional racing car atmosphere, refined by high-quality, exclusive details: the steel roll-over cage is finished in matt “designo magno graphite” to match the exterior. The racing car’s dashboard and centre console sport a matt carbon-fibre finish. Effective contrasts are produced by six-point seat belts in silver.
The collector’s item also boasts a seat shell in a high-strength carbon-fibre safety cell on the co-driver’s side. A special badge with a “1 of 5” logo on the seats alludes to the limited production run for this racing car. The standard appointments for the SLS AMG GT3 “45th Anniversary” are rounded off by a high-quality AMG indoor car cover with “45 Years of Driving Performance” logo.